LGBTQ-why?

I mentioned in an earlier post that I identify as “queer,” instead of bi because it makes me more comfortable because I don’t believe that other people necessarily need to know the ins and outs (no dirty joke intended) of my orientation. I realize that this is an intensely personal and subjective choice; “queer” has never been used against me, to break me down and so is still a safe space for me and my identity.

Having a word means having a place in our language, which means having an acknowledged and realized social identity. Those words often gain their most meaning, though, relationally, as in the acronym LGBT(QI). James Nichols says it best in his HuffPoarticle:

This acronym started out as a coverall term for a group of diverse people whose identities, lives and loves were questioned and persecuted. It was a profound linguistic move, an admirable coverall – but, like an old sweater, we’ve outgrown it. It’s not bad, it’s just how progress works. We are in a time of an identity revolution. We are starting to see, as a society, more and more identities (genderfluid, genderqueer, asexual, demisexual, intersex etc.) being made increasingly visible in discourses and in the media. With this welcome and wonderful proliferation of terminology and identity possibilities, the former catch-all, LGBT(QI), just isn’t catching us anymore.

It’s time for something different – better.

When I began researching for this post, I couldn’t think of alternatives to LGBTQI except my own adopted term. So when I stumbled upon the acronym GSD, it was an epiphanic moment. GSD is an acronym meaning “Gender and Sexuality Diversities.” It started out at GSM – with the M standing for Minorities – but transformed into a more welcoming, positive term. Obviously, nothing is perfect and this term, like any other, can and should be critiqued to improve it, but I think it is the best term I've seen so far. It groups us together without generalizing, without forgetting the “diversity” of the identities under the umbrella.

I felt, on seeing this term, a sense of unity and community that the LGBTQI acronym had just never given me. GSD gives me the space to both relate to people who are oppressed by systems of power and identify positively with their gender and sexuality in similar ways, but also the space to respect everyone’s different journey, struggle and lived experience.

James Nichols says that the new acronym symbolizes a “shifting focus from single-issue political gains towards the creation of a more equitable society for all individuals marginalized by power and privilege.”

So here’s a final breakdown of why I like the term:

• ·        More inclusive of all our diverse friends!
• ·        More coherent/less of a mouthful (phew!)
• ·        Inclusive of all without being overly general
• ·        Symbolically moving us towards societal tolerance
• ·        The acronym can also stand for Gorgeous Sassy Dinosaurs